NFL Rumors: Tee Higgins’ future, Jets bizarro world interview, Zach Wilson project?

The New York Jets have been an unmitigated disaster. 

Despite the addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the team has failed to put together a winning record in the past nine seasons. They’ll now miss the postseason for the 14th consecutive season, extending the longest active playoff drought in all four major North American professional sports league. 

As dysfunctional stories about incompetent ownership and a toxic environment continue to emerge, it’s becoming more obvious that the leadership — not the players — are to blame for the team’s failures. 

Sauce Gardner won’t expose Tee Higgins to Jets’ suffering

The Cincinnati Bengals have been on the edge of elimination, but they’ve managed to keep their postseason hopes alive heading into the final week of the regular season. Regardless of the outcome of their season, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins will likely become a free agent.

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner commented on an Instagram post by Higgins, but a Jets fan interjected and asked Gardner to tell Higgins to come to the Jets.

“I will NOT be telling him that,” Gardner responded.

It’s good to know that at least some Jets players don’t want other talented players to suffer alongside them. Now all Gardner needs to do is find an escape route out of Gotham City for himself. 

Could the Jets see the return of Rex Ryan?

Jets interim general manager Phil Savage and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich haven’t accomplished much to prove they deserve to keep their positions after the 2024 season. After all, two of the team’s four wins this season came under former coach Robert Saleh — and he was only around for the first five games. 

During a recent interview on 880 AM ESPN’s “DiPietro & Rothenberg” podcast, former head coach Rex Ryan told Jake Asman that he expects to speak with the Jets for the head coaching vacancy after the regular season. 

Ryan was the last head coach to let the Jets to the playoffs. He joined New York before the 2009 season, and he led New York to the AFC Championship Game in his first two years with the team. After that, everything seemed to fall apart. Ryan coached four more years in New York, and he finished with a losing record in each year. He was fired after recording a 46-50 record over the course of his six-year tenure.

Former Jets QBs are thriving on other teams

The New York Jets hunt for a franchise quarterback has ruined the careers of several highly-drafted quarterback prospects. The Jets selected Geno Smith in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and Sam Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Both quarterbacks flamed out in New York after an abysmal start to their careers, but they’ve both also had a resurgence with other teams.

“Based on what's happened with Sam Darnold and Geno Smith, someone oughta roll the dice on Zach Wilson in 2025,” MMQB’s Albert Breer suggested on social media. 

In 2022. Smith led the Seattle Seahawks to a postseason appearance after completing a career-high 69.8 percent of his passes for 4,282 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Although the Seahawks are slated to miss the playoffs this season, Smith has now posted a winning record in three consecutive seasons. 

Darnold received his opportunity to start with a stable franchise in 2024. After three tumultuous seasons with the Jets and two seasons of struggles with the Carolina Panthers, Darnold took a backseat with the San Francisco 49ers and was better for it. Now, he’s led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-1 record and is threatening to take the NFC’s top seed. Darnold has thrown for 4,153 passing yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions through 16 games.

Zach Wilson was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he was replaced by Rodgers after struggling immensely in his first two seasons. His 2023 campaign after Rodgers’ injury showed few signs of improvement, and he ultimately landed as a backup for the Denver Broncos. Much like 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan did for Darnold, perhaps a year of tutelage under Broncos head coach Sean Payton could work miracles on Wilson.